Yongfu Ward, the former residence of Guo Cun Zhong, the Imperial Secretary. The estate had been abandoned for years, with no one to maintain it. From the outer ward walls to the inner courtyard walls, the area once used for tethering horses was now overgrown with weeds.
Mei Zhuyu led a group of minor officials from the Ministry of Justice, along with coroners, clerks, and several soldiers. They entered the estate directly through a gate in the ward wall. As they entered, the dilapidated main gate collapsed with a crash, raising a cloud of dust.
Guo Cun Zhong had been immensely powerful over a decade ago, and this estate was built on a grand scale. Its interior boasted ornate beams and painted rafters, all reportedly exceeding the regulated standards for his rank. After his sudden downfall and the confiscation of his property, this magnificent and spacious residence fell into disrepair. As Guo Cun Zhong had been a second-rank official, the estate could only be sold to someone of higher rank. Lower-ranking officials weren’t permitted to use such elaborate architecture and would have to go through the trouble of demolishing and rebuilding, making it too cumbersome.
Moreover, Guo Cun Zhong’s crimes had been severe, with most of his family members hanging themselves in this very house. The ill fortune associated with the place meant that the large estate remained unsold and abandoned to this day. Forgotten for over a decade, the old residence was now in ruins. One could only vaguely imagine its former glory from the numerous hitching stones and troughs hidden in the overgrown grass and the faded, multicolored paint on the door lintels.
Two older minor officials who had been here before sighed at how times had changed. Mei Zhuyu, walking at the front, asked, “Where were the bodies discovered, and where is the person who reported this?”
“They’re waiting inside, in the main hall. The one who reported it was a man named Ma Pan from a nearby neighborhood. Although this estate was officially sealed off by the authorities, it’s been so many years that the doors have fallen and the seals have rotted away. With such a large estate stripped of valuables and left as an empty shell, no one bothered to manage or watch over it. So, some residents from nearby neighborhoods occasionally sneak in, hoping to find something usable to take home.”
The speaker was an outer lang from the Ministry of Justice. This Outer Lang Tao had a small mustache and nodded his head as he spoke, stroking his mustache after every sentence. “We’re here. It’s just over there. Oh my, what a stench! It’s suffocating!”
Everyone covered their noses as Mei Zhuyu stepped into the main hall, his brow slightly furrowed.
The hall had long been in disrepair, covered in dust and empty, with even the doors and windows having been pried away by scavengers. Due to the lack of oversight, it had become a shelter for beggars and vagrants, offering at least some roof over their heads. In the middle of the hall lay two bodies, unrecognizable in their current state, clothed in rags. One head had rolled to the side, its hair a tangled mess. The two deceased were beggars who had been resting in this dilapidated mansion.
Two ward soldiers were guarding a poorly dressed middle-aged man who knelt to one side, trembling. Upon seeing them arrive, he immediately cried out, “I truly have nothing to do with these two dead people! I only came here hoping to take a few roof tiles to repair my roof. Who knew that as soon as I entered, I’d smell this stench? I thought it might be a dead dog or cat, and out of curiosity, I came to look… and saw… these dead people. I didn’t do this!”
Mei Zhuyu glanced at him. “I understand. Be quiet now.”
Hearing this, Ma Pan immediately fell silent, obediently shrinking to one side. Mei Zhuyu called the coroners over to examine the bodies and had the clerks record the findings. He then walked over to inspect the bodies himself.
The two corpses were in a horrific state, barely recognizable as humans. Their limbs were scattered about as if torn apart by some large beast. The old coroner muttered as he examined them, insisting that this couldn’t have been done by a person – no human could have the strength to tear a body apart like this.
Outer Lang Tao stood outside with his hands behind his back, glancing inside only to turn away quickly, unable to bear the sight or the smell. Seeing Mei Zhuyu crouched next to the bodies, he couldn’t help but call out, “Lang Zhong Mei, aren’t you nauseated being so close? Why don’t you come and wait outside? Let them finish the examination and be done with it.”
It wasn’t done by a human anyway, he thought. They could just conclude it was wild dogs and close the case. The victims weren’t important people, just two vagrant beggars. If Lang Zhong Mei hadn’t offended Assistant Minister Xu, he wouldn’t have been sent out for such a trivial matter, Outer Lang Tao grumbled to himself.
Mei Zhuyu stood up and took another look around the hall. The spacious room was covered in mottled stains on the walls. To ordinary people, these were invisible, but in Mei Zhuyu’s eyes, black paw prints were everywhere.
Paw prints reeking of demonic energy, dog-like in shape but much larger than those of normal dogs. The scattered remains of the two bodies were also covered in the foul smell of canine saliva.
The coroner, rarely seeing such mangled bodies, quickly finished his examination and instructed the soldiers to gather the remains for removal.
Mei Zhuyu glanced at the sky outside and said to the group, “Hurry up, everyone. Finish quickly and get out of here.”
The others, not wanting to linger, heeded his words and hastened their work. Seeing them finish, Mei Zhuyu said, “Outer Lang Tao, you head back first. I’ll stay here to investigate further.”
Outer Lang Tao exclaimed in surprise, clearly not understanding why he would want to remain alone in such a gloomy place. But considering Lang Zhong Mei’s usual eccentricity, he didn’t question further and merely said politely, “It might be a bit dangerous alone. Why don’t we leave two men to accompany you?”
Mei Zhuyu replied curtly, “No need. You all go ahead.”
As strange as others say, Outer Lang Tao thought to himself as he led the group away, leaving Mei Zhuyu alone.
With everyone gone and only Mei Zhuyu remaining, the ghostly wind in the mansion seemed to intensify suddenly. Though the sun had not yet set, things in the shadowy corners of the house began to stir, and the entire estate grew dim. An eerie silence fell, devoid of human sounds, broken only by the soft tapping of Mei Zhuyu’s footsteps.
“Creeak…” As Mei Zhuyu passed through the main hall into the rear courtyard, a window on the second floor suddenly emitted a long, creaking sound before slamming shut with a bang. From the dark windows upstairs, sticky gazes locked onto Mei Zhuyu, and something whispered in the shadows.
These were malevolent entities born from the long-abandoned mansion, but they were inconsequential and incapable of killing anyone. Mei Zhuyu paid them no mind, ignoring everything around him as he walked purposefully in one direction, toward something that truly needed to be dealt with.
Deep within the mansion, a man wearing a veil noticed Mei Zhuyu’s approach. He chuckled softly, patting the head of a fierce dog beside him. “I wasn’t planning to kill him yet, but he’s delivered himself to my doorstep. How foolish. Well then, go and devour him.”
“Oh, and remember, don’t mangle his head. His face should be recognizable. We must let Wu Zhen see what expression of terror her chosen man wore at his death.”
As the man finished speaking, several ferocious dogs surrounding him stood up. When standing, they were each a head taller than the man. With vicious expressions and blood still on their muzzles, they silently rushed out like the wind.
Mei Zhuyu sensed the demonic aura from the back of the mansion, but as he reached the central courtyard, he suddenly halted and swiftly pointed forward. A gray and white ferocious dog materialized in the air. Its head was struck by Mei Zhuyu’s finger, and its entire body recoiled as if hit by a heavy blow, crashing to the ground and dying instantly.
Ignoring the fallen dog, Mei Zhuyu sidestepped a gust of wind by his ear and rapidly reached into the air, forcefully pulling out a set of terrifying claws. With a crack, the claws were broken by that seemingly frail hand more suited to holding a brush.
One after another, Mei Zhuyu located and killed all five ferocious dogs. The last one, sensing danger, had tried to flee but was kicked out by Mei Zhuyu, smashing into a wall on the right and causing the entire wall to collapse.
Mei Zhuyu’s lips moved slightly as he pulled several yellow talismans from his sleeve, placing one on each of the dog corpses. As the talismans burned away on the bodies, the once-massive dog forms shrank to the size of ordinary domestic dogs.
Mei Zhuyu glanced at them, his brow furrowing further, and continued towards the rear of the mansion.
These ferocious dogs were on the verge of becoming demon dogs. They weren’t naturally demonic but had been intentionally fed human flesh to induce their transformation. Such demon dogs, created by feeding on human flesh, were mindless man-eaters with violent temperaments. If released, they could have killed many innocent people in Chang’an.
In the rear of the mansion, the veiled man discovered that all his ferocious dogs had been killed. He was astonished. “This Mei Zhuyu is no ordinary person? How could he possibly know Daoist magic?!” He had investigated Mei Zhuyu before and believed him to be just an ordinary man. Even as he made his move, the veiled man hadn’t sensed anything amiss. But as soon as Mei Zhuyu acted, the veiled man realized something was wrong. Not only was this man from a Daoist sect, but his cultivation level was likely quite high.
What he had thought would be a simple task of eliminating Mei Zhuyu had suddenly become complicated. Several things weren’t going as smoothly as expected, and the veiled man’s mood soured. He decided not to linger here any longer. This time, he had underestimated his opponent. Next time, he would come better prepared to face Mei Zhuyu.
Just as the veiled man turned to leave, he heard Mei Zhuyu’s voice from outside the door, “Come out.”
“You’re quite quick,” the veiled man said, pushing open the door and standing on the steps, looking down at Mei Zhuyu. Earlier, he had thought Mei Zhuyu was just an ordinary person and hadn’t taken him seriously. Now, realizing he was also a practitioner, he finally gave him a proper look.
Mei Zhuyu, ignoring the man’s gaze, simply asked, “You deliberately raised these ferocious dogs and fed them human flesh?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the veiled man spread his hands and smiled. “They only ate some beggars. It’s no different from eating a few rats.”
Before his smile could fully form, a hand appeared abruptly behind him, snapping his neck. The man’s laughter cut off suddenly, his expression frozen in shock.
Mei Zhuyu knocked off the veil, looked at the man’s face, and found he didn’t recognize him. With another push, the man’s neck went completely limp.
Mei Zhuyu let go, allowing the man’s body to fall to the ground, and walked past it towards the exit.
In the world of ordinary people, one must follow the laws of the state. In the world of non-human entities, there are no laws, but those who disregard human life deserve death.
As Mei Zhuyu walked out of the gloomy mansion, he was surprised to see Wu Zhen dismounting from her horse at the entrance. The man who had coldly snapped a neck moments ago suddenly turned into a lovesick boy, unexpectedly encountering his beloved and not knowing what to say in his excitement.
“I ran into Outer Lang Tao from the Ministry of Justice on the road. He said you were still alone in this ruined mansion, so I came to check on you,” Wu Zhen said as she approached him. She turned to look at the dilapidated gate. “This place doesn’t look good at all. You shouldn’t come here again in the future.”
Mei Zhuyu nodded, “Alright, I won’t come again. It’s indeed not a good place. You shouldn’t come here either.”
Wu Zhen smiled, “I have no reason to come to such a rundown place. Anyway, since you’re fine, I’ll be going now.”
Mei Zhuyu instinctively said, “We haven’t seen each other for several days…”
Wu Zhen replied, “No, we see each other often, don’t we?” As she said this, Wu Zhen remembered that it was she who often transformed into a cat to follow the young man. For him, he indeed didn’t see her often.
“Does the young lord miss me? Want to see me?”
“…”
“If you don’t say it, how would I know that you want to see me? Why don’t you send me a message next time you want to see me, and I’ll come to you.” Wu Zhen smiled mischievously as she stroked the young man’s hand, turning him into a stiff rabbit with ears standing straight up.